Title: My Kid Could Paint That
Year: 2007
Director: Amir Bar-Lev
Cast: Marla Olmstead, Laura Olmstead, Mark Olmstead, Zane Olmstead, Anthony Burnelli, Amir Bar-Lev
Rated: PG-13
My Review: A four year old girl who paints pictures that sell for thousands of dollars. Is this consider hidden talent, or just a painting from a four year girl? I tend to admire imagination over talent, so to me I believe this little girl to be the purest and innocent form of art, with no contention, or irony in her abstract art. To me it's a glimpse into a child's imagination. and being an adult, it makes me wish I had that untarnished purity of imagination.
The documentary itself is fascinating. Taking the innocence of a child's paintings, and shoving them into the spotlight, where so called art dealers start selling her work for thousands of dollars. As Marla is blissfully unaware of the on goings of her celebrity. Her parents are cast as the villains in the public eye, for making money off their little girl. I found this documentary to be very inspirational, that artistic talent can come from anywhere. But at the same time jealousy as i'm sure every struggling artist might feel. To be so successful at such a young age. If you are a lover of art, especially abstract art (like Jackson Pollock, and Jean-Michel Basquiat) you will be very intrigued with this documentary. 10 out of 10
Title: Con Artist
Year: 2009
Director: Michael Sladek
Cast: Mark Kostabi
Rated: NR
My Review: This man is the corporate greedy side of the art world, and he embraces it fully. To him people are consumers and will by anything. Which is true but that takes away from the genuine artists making work that really comes from deep inside their hearts, and struggling with not getting their work sold or appreciated. While Mark Kostabi doesn't even "make" his work. He makes a little thumbnail sketch of a picture, then turns it over to his employees to make the piece, then Mark comes over and just signs his name. Is this considered art? They are not done from his talent, but from his imagination. When does it stop being art? I've heard of artists that are getting on in age or that have passed away before they could complete their last piece, it's then handed over to their interns and proteges to have the piece finished. Is this still considered the master's work? This one is a tricky question. But to me Mark Kostabi is not an artist, he is a business man. The intentions for expression is gone. All that is concerned is the dollar amount. But is Mark's manipulation of the craft an art in itself?
Title: Marwencol
Year: 2010
Director: Jeff Malmberg
Cast: Mark Hogancamp
Rated: NR
My Review: I found this documentary to be very uplifting for me, and also close to home, for the solitary of a man looking for his better half. This documentary is put together very well. With great editing and camera work by first time filmmaker Jeff Malmberg. Very eye catching in it's visual style and in it's silent beauty. Asking a question that we should all ask ourselves, who am I?
A man that was in a coma starts to create his own world in his backyard as a form of therapy. Is this considered art? of outsider art? To Mark Hogancamp, the answer is no, his intentions were never to show his pictures to the public. So the question becomes, has his therapy only become a source of art to the public, because we can never know the inner workings and pain in Mark's mind. To perception that we see in his pieces are not tangible to us the way they are in Mark's eyes. Or is he just mentally disturbed. Who's to say. But the unintended, and such a private piece of yourself, is put into the public's eye, does that take away from the heart of it all? What is art really?
Available on Netflix Instant
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